Technology, Support, and News Forum

[rippinchikkin]

<img src="http://techgage.com/images/news/orb_audio_mod2_logo.gif" align="right" alt="ORB Audio Mod2 Home Theater System"></img> ORB Audio Mod2 Home Theater System
By Rory Buszka
June 13, 2007

One of the most interesting newcomers to the internet-based direct-selling audio manufacturing scene is ORB Audio. In the few years they've existed now, they've made quite a reputation for themselves for producing a high-quality product and selling it for way less than they could get away with in the industry -- thanks in part to the direct-sales business model, which is shared by other manufacturers like SVSound, Onix, Aperion Audio, Home Theater Direct, and Ascend Acoustics.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret that makes the high-end audio world go 'round: markups on loudspeaker products are enormous. High prices keep the ultra-high-end exclusive, and keep ordinary consumers wondering what could possibly be so special about three or four speaker drivers (hunks of metal, plastic, fabric, and rubber) in wooden enclosures with some internal circuitry. Some of that markup is distributed back to the dealer, as a "thank you" for giving extra-special sales treatment to a particular loudspeaker brand.

Some of it even ends up back in the pocket of the salesman.Now, let's be real; some high-end loudspeaker manufacturers truly push the envelope, and the sheer amount of engineering and fine-tuning involved in achieving a synergistic result is enough to justify a stratospheric price tag in some cases, since they truly advance the state of the art in audio reproduction.

These products are usually sold in boutique dealerships; you won't even find them in specialty A/V stores like Tweeter or Ovation. But when more of the money you pay for the product goes back into marketing, sales, and legal departments than into the actual engineering and development of more innovative products, it's no surprise that many consumers find these manufacturers' priorities to be somewhat misplaced.